Excerpt from cnbc.com
The CEO of Volkswagen Group has praised Elon Musk’s Tesla and welcomed the fact there will be competition between the two firms going forward.
Earlier this month, Musk addressed VW executives via video link after being invited to do so by Herbert Diess, who heads up the German automaker. Musk’s appearance was confirmed by Diess on Twitter and in a post on LinkedIn.
“I very much appreciate it that he showed up — I think we had a nice dialogue,” Diess, who was speaking to CNBC’s Julianna Tatelbaum on Thursday, said.
“And we have to accept that Tesla sets the new benchmarks [on] … the EV side,” Diess added. “Not only technology-wise but also when it comes to productivity, speed … I think it’s always good to have competition.”
The Volkswagen Group, which is pursuing an electrification strategy, is headquartered in the German city of Wolfsburg. Elon Musk’s Tesla is building its Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg in Grünheide, a few hours’ drive from VW’s base.